Thursday, September 16, 2010

Official 10th-day-of-class statistics show a total enrollment of 1,370. That number includes 1,311 full-time Winona campus undergraduates and 59 part-time students.

A total of 347 freshmen are enrolled this fall, up five percent over last year.

Even though the freshman count is up, the overall undergraduate enrollment shows a slight decrease from the 1,404 recorded in fall 2009.

“The larger freshman class is evidence that students and families recognize the value of a Saint Mary's education,” according to Bob Conover, vice president for communication and marketing. “You can feel the energy and excitement these new students have brought to campus.”

Enrollment will be counted in October for the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs.

The Department of Theatre and Dance will begin its season with the giggle-inducing comedy, “The Lightning Bug” Sept. 30 through Oct. 3.

This world-premiere performance capitalizes on superhero silliness and involves fast-paced dialogue and non-stop action. The family-friendly show, written by award-winning playwright Rand Higbee, takes place in 1939 at the Magnopolis Daily News as the evil genius Dr. Kasady emerges from hiding. The plot combines the elements of a 1930s screwball comedy with those of an old-time comic book adventure.

Rand, who received a 2009 Wisconsin Wrights award for “The Lightning Bug,” has written several popular plays including “Next!” which is currently one of the most often performed high school one-acts in the country.

A question-and-answer period with Rand — who currently lives near Red Wing — will be held following Friday evening’s performance.

The show’s director Judy Myers discovered “Lightning Bug” when she attended the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska in June of 2009. “Rand’s piece was read on the last day and I was so impressed that I asked him immediately following the reading if he would allow us to produce it at SMU,” Myers said. “I believed it would be a great piece for our students, as well as the Saint Mary’s and Winona communities.”

“Lightning Bug” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available at the Box Office, Ext. 1715 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Several students from SMU were chosen to exhibit in “Watershed,” a juried exhibition at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, 800 Riverview Drive. The exhibition features work from SMU and Winona State University students who were asked to create work that was inspired by water. Three winners and 12 runners-up were chosen out of 45 entries. The exhibition, being held in conjunction with “Between the Shining Seas,” will be on display through Saturday, Nov. 13.

The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts will offer Stage Combat Workshops, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 18-19, and Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 9-10. Classes will be offered from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Valéncia Arts Center, 1164 West 10th St.

In both workshops, students will learn the basics of faking unarmed fights onstage without sacrificing either safety or dramatic effectiveness.

The September workshops include “Acting (with Fights) — An Introduction to Unarmed Stage Combat” and “On the Edge of a Noodle — Safety in Stage Combat.” These workshops will focus on the acting and safety challenges that arise when theatrical violence is required during a scene. Using pool noodles, students will explore safety, action and reaction, and the appearance of danger in the context of a “West Side Story” rumble/knife fight. The workshops will end with a showing of choreographed stage combat routines.

The October workshops feature “Acting (with Fights) — An Introduction to Unarmed Stage Combat” and “Don't Hold the Pointy End — An Introduction to Stage Swordplay.” These workshops will introduce students to the basics of stage rapier through a choreographed routine, including footwork, cuts, thrusts and parries.

Instructed by Mike Speck, the workshops are open to students and community members ages 15 to adults (and by invitation only for younger students). Tuition for the workshops is $20 per weekend. A reduced price of $30 is offered for those who register for both the September and October workshops. College or university students may register for half price through MCA’s university student discount.

Registration is currently open and will be accepted at the door. To register, or for more information about the MCA Stage Combat Workshops and other MCA dance, music, and theatre programming, visit www.mnconservatoryforthearts.org, e-mail mca@smumn.edu or call Ext. 5500.

Throughout the weekend, more than 200 young alumni and guests came back to the Winona Campus to participate in weekend events.

Thanks go to faculty and staff for attending and for providing continuous support throughout the weekend. Many young alums have expressed their gratitude for being given the opportunity to reconnect with people who made such an impact on their lives.

Along with the induction of this year’s Hall of Fame class, SMU’s 2009-10 postseason award-winners, as well as last year’s outstanding male and female athletes, and outstanding scholar athletes, were also recognized. The weekend festivities began on Friday with a men’s hockey alumni game, continued Saturday morning with a golf outing at Cedar Valley Golf Course and concluded on Sunday with a picnic and various alumni games on the Winona campus.

The week of Oct. 3-9 is Lasallian Week of Peace. The Lasallian Week of Peace originated in 2006 during a meeting of Young Lasallians in Rome to encourage Lasallian schools to participate in one of the social justice initiatives of the church as well as to pray for world peace.Campus Ministry and other groups sponsor events.The overall theme of the week is “Blessed Are the Peacemakers.”

The next “Let’s Do Lunch” will be a Halloween party on Friday, Oct. 29. Proceeds will benefit Christ the Teacher Institute for Education on our Nairobi campus. Start gathering costume ideas for your offices and departments.

The volunteer committee will host a DVD and video game sale on Wednesday, Oct. 6, in Saint Mary’s Hall. Donations can be brought to the Business Office or to Student Activities before Monday, Oct. 4. No CDs or video tapes will be accepted. Proceeds will benefit Christ the Teacher Institute for Education on the SMU Nairobi campus.

Dr. Dooley is a Sinsinawa (Wis.) Dominican Sister who teaches at Dominican University in River Forest, Ill. For the past 25 years, she taught in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

She holds an M.A. from the Catholic University of America, a M. Th. from Harvard Divinity School, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. Dr. Dooley has published widely in catechetical and liturgical journals and written a number of texts and resource materials for religious education. She is one of the general editors for the Benziger series, “Christ Jesus the Way” and has won numerous national awards.

The Vineyard Colloquia is a series of national and local scholars and practitioners of Catholic ministry, speaking and sparking conversation on the practice and spirituality of lay ecclesial ministry.

The event, hosted by the Department of Theology, is free and open to the public.

Guest pianist Svetlana Belsky will present a public recital 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at Saint Mary’s. The free performance — to be held in Figliulo Recital Hall — will include works by Busoni.

Born in the Soviet Union, Belsky began piano lessons at the age of 7, and was soon performing in the major concert halls of her native Kiev. Her playing has been critically acclaimed as “passionate,” “impressive,” “hypnotic” and “... (possessing) a high degree of musical maturity and sensitivity.”

After immigrating to the United States, Belsky studied with Chicago’s beloved Emilio Del Rosario. She received her Bachelor of Music and Master degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and her Doctorate in Performance at the Manhattan School of Music.

Although she trained mainly in the United States, Belsky has an unmistakably Russian temperament and tonal gift, with which she combines her stylistic versatility and love for a wide variety of music. Belsky has won prizes in numerous national and international piano competitions and has been active as a recitalist and chamber performer throughout the United States, in concert and on the radio. Plans for the upcoming seasons include concerts of Ferruccio Busoni's compositions in the United States, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

She is the coordinator of Piano Studies at the University of Chicago. Her busy teaching schedule includes students from four continents, many of whom are competition winners, professional musicians and performers themselves. She is in great demand as a lecturer on the subjects of piano pedagogy, masterclass guest teacher, and competition adjudicator. Additionally, Belsky has written widely on music history, appreciation and piano literature.

On Saturday, Sept. 25, Saint Mary’s will host a concert featuring the bands Sing It Loud and The Fast Track.

The concert will be held in SMU’s gymnasium and doors will open at 7:30 p.m. The Fast Track will play at 8 p.m. with Sing It Loud taking the stage at 9 p.m. The concert is free to SMU students and $5 for all other admission. Tickets will be available at the door.

Sing it Loud is an American pop rock band from Minneapolis. Their new album, titled “Everything Collide,” contains 11 tracks and was released in May. The album reached #28 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

Saint Mary’s is presenting an exhibit of 27 prints that were created as part of the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum’s 10th anniversary until Sept. 26.

The Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum of Two Rivers, Wis., is the only museum dedicated to the preservation, study, production and printing of wood type. The show, free and open to the public, will be on display at the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The Saint Mary’s Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea, have just received an invitation to sing as the guest choir for Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, during their March 2011 concert tour to Rome. The Chamber Singers will sing for Mass on Friday, March 11, at 5 p.m. at the Altar of St. Joseph (in the Left Transept).

Mass at St. Peter’s will be a highlight of the week-long tour, which will also include other liturgies and full-length concerts, including a performance at our sister Lasallian secondary school, San Giuseppe de Merode, in central Rome. More details about the tour will be announced in the coming months.

Dr. Janet Heukeshoven will be inducted into her high school’s Alumni Hall of Fame on the weekend of Sept. 24-25. Events surrounding the event include a dinner for honorees, introduction at half-time of the homecoming football game, a post-game ceremony of installation and reception, and appearance at the Band Boosters pancake breakfast Saturday morning. A plaque will be placed in the school alumni hall of fame and will also be featured on the school’s website.

Saint Mary’s bi-annual Red Cross Blood Drive, hosted by the sisters of SAI, will be held Oct. 18-19 in the Hall of Fame Room from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Nicole Ciulla, SAI programs director, nkciul07@smumn.edu.

The first Chat, Chow & Web 2.0 is an invitation to meet Laura Oanes, the new library director, see the new library space, and hear about the latest SMU technology updates. The event is noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22.

Nancy Sims, copyright program librarian at the U of M, will discuss copyright issues relevant to higher education, including using teaching materials in class and online for the October Chat & Chow event. Sims will present from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27.

Meet in the main lounge of the McEnery Center. The event is sponsored by the Fitzgerald Library, IT and Instructional Technology. Lunch will be provided; an RSVP is appreciated, but not necessary, and everyone is welcome. For more information, contact Jason Spartz, jspartz@smumn.edu.

The annual Mississippi River cleanup will be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at Latsch Island Beach. Volunteers will go out in boats to remove eyesores and pollutants, such as treated wood, discarded tires and metals from islands, shorelines and dikes. A free lunch and music will be provided.

Campus Ministry is offering volunteers an opportunity to participate in this cleanup and a Gilmore Creek cleanup on Sunday, Sept. 26, from 2 to 4 p.m.

A workshop, Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking, will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 22, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Room 317, Saint Mary's Hall.

While the workshop is especially designed for those taking TA101 Oral Communication, it is open to any student interested in gaining more confidence in presenting in the classroom and other public settings. The presenter will be Ann E. Gibson, Ed. D., director of SMU Counseling Services.

Registration is at the door. For more information, call Ext. 1773 or e-mail agibson@smumn.edu.